Streamlining certification processes for rail vehicles A cluster of railway interoperability-related projects, TRIO-TRAIN, has been established to advance innovations facilitating the approval of multisystem networks and routes in Europe. For its part, the Dynotrain project is working to enable a faster, cheaper and better certification process for all relevant stakeholders. Industrial Technologies © Thinkstock Certification of a rail vehicle greatly impacts vehicle cost and time to market, given that this must be carried out in accordance with European Standards (EN) and regulations, Technical Specifications for Interoperability (TSI) and national safety rules. A major part of the certification process calls for performance and safety testing, and infrastructure compatibility. Supported by EU funding and with a view to enhancing the competitiveness of rail traffic, the Dynotrain project aims to decrease costs of the mandatory course of action without reducing safety parameters. As such, the team is focused on identifying inconsistencies and open points in existing acceptance criteria so as to propose revisions of acceptance criteria in EN. They will also propose ways of closing relevant open points in the TSI. Other project objectives include the introduction of virtual testing for reducing costs of certification, and establishing standardised conditions for deriving results. The undertaking is supported by 22 partners from 7 European countries with the overarching goal of realising the European rail industry's interoperability objectives. To date, a large test campaign has been carried out in four countries with four test vehicles. In addition, partners have considered different methods for defining track quality in terms of vehicle reaction, and are progressing with the development of conicity maps. Rail profile data, supplementing track data, have also been provided and used for the calculation of conicity maps, on the basis of which in-service limit values for the TSIs will be recommended. Furthermore, work has been completed on best industry practice for modelling vehicle behaviour, and discussions have commenced on how to assess if the model is validated. Progress has also been made in the area of virtual certification of modified vehicles and vehicles running in other conditions, while a study of national rules for vehicle acceptance has afforded important insights regarding barriers to cross acceptance. Ongoing Dynotrain activities will contribute to the practical implementation and reduced costs of procedures that effectively advance the envisaged interoperability of railways systems across Europe.
